1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a button feeder for feeding buttons such as snap buttons, hook buttons, ornamental buttons, or the like to a button applicator for attaching such buttons to garment fabric pieces.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 56-85407 published July 11, 1981 discloses an automatic button applicator having a lower die unit with a die and an upper die unit with a punch. The button applicator is equipped with a button feeder for feeding buttons one by one from a first hopper to the lower die unit. Button attachments are also fed one by one by another feeder from a second hopper to the upper die unit. With a garment fabric piece disposed between the upper and lower die units, the punch is moved toward the die to forcibly join the button and the button attachment together by staking on the garment fabric piece.
Where an ornamental button with characters and/or figures on its face is to be attached to a fabric piece, the button is required to be oriented in a desired direction at all times when it is fed to a button applicator. A known button feeder is designed to supply such a button to a lower die unit while the button is being directed as desired.
For example, as shown by Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 52-28453 published Mar. 8, 1976, a guide member having a wedge-shaped groove and another guide member having a vertical wall are disposed in confronting relation on a base block, thus defining a button feed path receptive of the circular head of a button. When the button is fed along the button feed path by means of a pusher, the button is rotated about its own axis in one direction because the circular button head undergoes greater frictional resistance imposed by the wedge-shaped groove than by the vertical wall. The button has forks on its back which engage confronting edges of the guide members to orient the button while it is being fed along the button feed path.
When the button travels along the button feed path, the button tends to be subjected to more and more frictional resistance to its movement since the circular head thereof is progressively forced into the wedge-shaped groove due to rotation of the button about its own axis.